1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications and, more particularly, to a method and system for managing multiple “push-to-talk” (PTT) communication modes.
2. Description of Related Art
Many wireless service providers have begun offering a half-duplex form of wireless communication that is commonly known as “push-to-talk” (PTT) service. PTT service can provide a user experience that is, in many respects, similar to “walkie-talkie” communication with two-way radios.
In a typical implementation, an initiator interacts with a menu on the initiator's mobile station to select a subscriber or group of subscribers as recipients of a PTT audio communication. To initiate a PTT audio communication, the initiator presses and holds a PTT button on the mobile station. In response, the mobile station wirelessly transmits signals to set up the connection. When the connection has been established, the mobile station plays a tone or other readiness signal. At that point, the initiator may begin speaking. The initiator releases the PTT button when finished speaking. The initiator's PTT audio communication is conveyed through the network to the recipients' mobile stations. When a mobile station receives the PTT audio communication, the mobile station will typically generate an incoming audio indication (such as a beeping sound) and then play the initiator's audio message automatically through a speaker. After the initiator's PTT audio communication is played out, a recipient may press a PTT button on the recipient's mobile station and begin speaking to send a responsive PTT audio communication.
One attraction of PTT service is its directness. In particular, the “forced audio” aspect, in which the recipient's mobile station plays the PTT audio communication automatically, avoids the steps of ringing the recipient's mobile station and then waiting for the recipient to answer, as is typically done for a wireless telephone call. However, forced audio can be undesirable in certain situations. For example, if a recipient is in a meeting, a PTT audio communication could be an undesirable interruption for the recipient, and it might be heard by others at the meeting. Another limitation of forced audio is that the recipient may not hear the audio communication if the recipient is away from the recipient's mobile station.
Some wireless service providers have offered features that can reduce some of the undesirable aspects of “forced audio” PTT service. As one example, a subscriber may be able to activate a “Do Not Disturb” feature that prevents any PTT communications from being sent to that subscriber. As another example, a subscriber may be able to turn down the volume on the mobile station's speaker or set the mobile station on a silent or vibrate mode so as to avoid interruptions caused by forced audio communications.
Although these features can provide benefits, they have the disadvantage of requiring the subscriber to take action in order to avoid undesirable PTT communication. In particular, a “Do Not Disturb” feature does not help much if the subscriber forgets to activate it and then gets interrupted by a PTT communication during a meeting. A “Do Not Disturb” feature is also counterproductive if the subscriber activates it before a meeting but then forgets to de-activate afterward.
Accordingly, there continues to be a need for providing ways of reducing the undesirable aspects of PTT communication.